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Adrianne Curry Goes In on Tyra Banks, Claims the Supermodel Never Gave Her Prizes for Winning ‘ANTM’
She was the first to get on top, but Adrianne Curry fell hard and fast after winning Season 1 of America’s Next Top Model in 2003. The model-turned-Avon sales rep, 35, opened up about her experience on the show in a scathing blog post published on Sunday, Dec. 10. According to Adrianne, host Tyra Banks and producers misled her and other contestants about the show’s final prizes.
“We were promised a Revlon contract on my season and a contract with Wilhelmina. They did voice-overs on the actual aired show and changed what was being said to us while filming,” she claimed. “When I met with Revlon, they informed me they never planned on using the winner, whoever she may be, for any ads. They hired me for $15k to model makeup in a room with 10 execs in it to honor said contract. I was crushed, but still very grateful. $15K is amazing!”
However, Adrianne went on to say that, to this day, she has yet to receive her check from Revlon. The brunette beauty also revealed that her burgeoning career also took a hit after ANTM cut ties with Wilhelmina to work with rival agency IMG Models. “I reached out to Tyra and Top Model, desperate to get out of my contract and get advice as I was not being given any castings, etc. by an agency that wanted me to fail,” she continued. “CRICKETS. Phone calls ignored. Then, my $15k for Revlon? Suddenly, I wasn’t being paid.”
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Adrianne said that she was then sent to Africa to model, which also didn’t work out. “Wilhelmina still refused to pay me. I was broke and stuck in a third world country,” she wrote. “My family had to wire me money for me to buy my ticket back home.”
Months later, she defiantly accepted an offer to appear on VH1’s The Surreal Life. When word got out to Tyra and the creators of ANTM, Adrianne was made aware that they were very much against the idea of her joining the reality series.
“I did the show. I purposely got wasted and skinny dipped. I took joy in knowing it would bother people,” she explained. “I took every opportunity to let press know I was never paid or given my prize. I’d talk s–t about Tyra just to do it…Revenge was sweet. I talked mad s–t that I wouldn’t do now, I was a kid. My anger was a thin mask for my broken heart. I poked and jabbed because I knew it drove them nuts.”
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These days, Adrianne has a whole new outlook — and admitted she has regrets about the way she handled the situation. “I wouldn’t be so extreme in my behavior on TV which reflects on me more than them. I would have just eloquently expressed how heartbroken I was,” she said, adding that she also would have declined previous offers to appear in Playboy. “I certainly wouldn’t have done Playboy, let alone twice. That too, was my huge f–k you.”
Despite her sordid past with Tyra and the show, Adrianne is beyond grateful for the lessons she learned from the experience. “I wish Tyra well in her life and have no hard feelings anymore,” she wrote. “She is a woman looking out for herself in a world where no one else gives a s–t about you… Being cut throat and numb to others in that industry is the only way to get ahead.”
In response to haters who called out Adrianne for slamming the show that made her famous, the Illinois native said that she wrote the blog post because ANTM contacted her to appear on Season 24 (premiering next month on VH1) after years of being shunned from the franchise.
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“I figured explaining old news would enlighten those wondering why I wouldn’t, VH1 having been my home for so long…and Top Model never showing me when showing past winners. Two, I no longer care to pursue entertainment. I quit the business, run my Avon store, and ran away to the mountains with the love of my life,” Adrianne, who’s engaged to actor Matthew Rhode, explained in a follow-up post. “Getting on the next show, etc. to extend my earning ability is the last thing I’d want for me or us. Hollywood destroys real love. I don’t really care what the repercussions are of just tossing my truth out there. It doesn’t affect my new life.”
